Black weekend
Inevitably, Davide Tardozzi is left with a bitter taste. After 88 consecutive races, there is no longer a Ducati on the podium. Instead, there are two Aprilias, which in addition to winning the Grand Prix with Marco Bezzecchi, monopolized the top 5 by placing all four bikes up there at the top, where the Borgo Panigale squad usually laid down the law. After the winter tests, it was expected that the gap between Noale and Bologna would have narrowed, but at Buriram, Aprilia’s supremacy was clear.
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Interviewed by Sky Sport MotoGP, Tardozzi sportingly acknowledged the merits of his rivals, highlighting the excellent work that Aprilia and Marco Bezzecchi have been carrying out since 2025, with Bezzecchi having clearly raised his level and now becoming one of the reference riders in MotoGP. “Aprilia did an excellent job and Bezzecchi is in splendid form – Tardozzi acknowledged – but both have been doing well since the middle of last season. Even Marquez, before the accident, had always struggled to beat Bezzecchi. He beat him several times, but it was tough. Chapeau to Aprilia, Bezzecchi, and Trackhouse because they worked very well. We have to work and move forward on what we are thinking. We must no longer keep anything in the drawers and bring out everything there is, but I believe that Gigi [Dall’Igna] is absolutely aware of this. We must put the Ducati riders back in a position to fight for the podium again”. A statement that suggests the existence of some news coming to the Ducati camp.
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Four slaps
“Bagnaia? All the riders suffered from the change in conditions from the tests to this weekend – the Ducati manager added, when asked to comment on the difficult start to the championship for the three-time world champion – something changed and the performance of all the Ducatis changed, while those of Acosta and the Aprilias did not. It’s not an excuse, we have to evaluate why. There is a track component that had a negative impact. Dall’Igna is on top of this for the future as well. Here we took four slaps from Aprilia, but there will be other tracks that will define the true values, apart from Brazil which is a new track and doesn’t provide a judgment. Austin, Qatar and Jerez will tell us what the reality of things is. Acosta? The whole paddock has known he is a good rider for years. We need to put our riders in a position to fight for the podium. Pecco is certainly performing well, I reiterate this despite a race that went badly“.
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